Liquor Labs 11: A barrage of beer beverages

Cedric of Liquor Labs contacted me a while ago about his business venture, which is an underground dinner club of sorts focusing on elevating and refining the world of cocktails. His concept is that people join a club for an annual fee, then get exclusive invites to pop up parties themed around different liquors. The location is announced just a few days before.

I was super excited to see a beer-themed night on the books, because I am a beer geek through and through. I don't drink often, but when I do, it tends to be beer. This particular event was hosted at The Chop Shop downtown, which I've never been to and felt not quite cool enough to be at. Nonetheless, we got a table at the front of the room and sat down to start imbibing. We waited about 40 minutes for the event to start and get kicked off with our first beverage. How it worked was there was a six-course menu of drinks paired with small bites to be shared by the table.

Look at all those noms! My favorite drinks included this beauty:

It's a porter-based cocktail infused with coconut liquor and topped with coconut flakes. It was so, so good.
And this dessert was divine:

The dessert was a panna cotta with balsamic infused berries, which was more savory than sweet, and complemented the dessert drink deliciously. It was my beloved Not Your Father's root beer topped with vanilla ice cream. So creamy, so boozy!

The Sleepy Hollow, which is on the left, was also amazing. It was even better as the ice melted and it mellowed.
This was a very cool experience - I learned a lot about how to blend my favorite beers into cocktails and enjoyed some really great charcuterie in a new environment. It's also great to see mixologists doing their thing and applying all their talents in such an intimate setting. It was easy to ask questions and learn more, as well as network and make new friends.
Want to try Liquor Labs for yourself? Stay tuned ..